Top Items:
Zachary Cohen / CNN:
Top US general rejected Trump suggestions military should ‘crack skulls’ during protests last year, new book claims — General's response to Gaetz's question leaves him shaking his head — Washington (CNN)The top US general repeatedly pushed back on then-President Donald Trump's argument …
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Michael Luciano / Mediaite:
‘Neither I, Nor OAN, Are Suggesting Anyone Should Be Executed,’ Says Guy on OAN Who Suggested People Should Be Executed For Election Fraud — On Thursday, One America News host Pearson Sharp attempted to clarify on-air remarks suggesting that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
Trump Wanted Military to ‘Beat the F*ck’ Out of George Floyd Protesters, ‘Just Shoot Them,’ Says New Book — Former President Donald Trump had an aggressive reaction to his fellow Americans protesting the death of George Floyd, reportedly telling his team that he wanted the military to “beat the f*ck” out of them, “just shoot them.”
Michael Luciano / Mediaite:
Tucker Carlson Trashes Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: 'He's Not Just a Pig, He's Stupid'
Tucker Carlson Trashes Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: 'He's Not Just a Pig, He's Stupid'
Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
OAN Host Who Mused About Mass Executions: I Was Just Discussing The Federal Legal Code!
OAN Host Who Mused About Mass Executions: I Was Just Discussing The Federal Legal Code!
Discussion:
Mediaite, Media Matters for America and Digby's Hullabaloo
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
OAN Goes Full Fascist, Calls for Mass Executions Over ‘Election Fraud’
OAN Goes Full Fascist, Calls for Mass Executions Over ‘Election Fraud’
Discussion:
Arizona Republic, Washington Examiner, The Independent, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and POLITICUSUSA
The Hill:
Biden says he won't sign bipartisan bill without reconciliation bill — President Biden on Thursday said he won't sign the bipartisan infrastructure deal if Congress doesn't also pass a reconciliation bill, committing to a dual track system to get both bills passed.
Discussion:
New York Times, Breitbart, New York Post, The 19th, Roll Call, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and IJR
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The White House:
FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Support for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework … Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris announced their support for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, the largest long-term investment in our infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century …
Discussion:
Arizona Mirror, Bloomberg, Iowa Capital Dispatch, USA Today, Common Dreams, Washington Examiner, Insider, Maryland Matters and Reason
National Review:
Republicans Shouldn't Fall for Biden's Infrastructure Charade — Last month, we warned Republicans about the pitfalls of indulging President Biden's infrastructure fantasies. The bipartisan framework announced Thursday isn't causing us to change our mind.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Breitbart, Must Read Alaska, The Moderate Voice, RedState and WGN-TV
Associated Press:
‘We have a deal’: Biden announces infrastructure agreement
‘We have a deal’: Biden announces infrastructure agreement
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story, Washington Times, Common Dreams, Breitbart, NPR, KAMR, The National Interest, IJR, UPI, Outside the Beltway, Bloomberg and CBS San Francisco
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Joe Biden Is Confirming Judges Faster Than Decades Of Past Presidents
Tom LoBianco / Insider:
Pence is positioned to counterattack Trump — Mike Pence must soon decide whether to hit back at former President Donald Trump. — Trump continues to stoke rage against his loyal former lieutenant. — Pence speaks Thursday night at a Reagan Foundation event titled “A Time for Choosing”.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, POLITICUSUSA and KVIA-TV
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FiveThirtyEight:
How Trump Has Redefined Conservatism — In 2004, Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Toomey was the face of the conservative insurgency. An anti-taxes, anti-spending hawk, Toomey was one of many conservative upstarts who primaried a more moderate fellow Republican; in Toomey's case, longtime Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter.
Discussion:
HotAir
Zachary Evans / National Review:
Pence ‘Proud’ of Rejecting ‘Un-American’ Demand That He Overturn Election Results
Pence ‘Proud’ of Rejecting ‘Un-American’ Demand That He Overturn Election Results
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CBS News and Washington Post
Associated Press:
Nearly all COVID deaths in US are now among unvaccinated — Nearly all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. now are in people who weren't vaccinated, a staggering demonstration of how effective the shots have been and an indication that deaths per day — now down to under 300 — could be practically zero if everyone eligible got the vaccine.
Discussion:
Deadline, Forbes, New York Times, Rolling Stone, Gizmodo, New York Post, Political Wire and Mercury News
New York Times:
New York Suspends Giuliani's Law License — A state appellate court concluded that as Donald J. Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, had lied about election fraud. — A New York appellate court suspended Rudolph W. Giuliani's law license on Thursday after a disciplinary panel found that he made …
Discussion:
Reuters, ABC News, Axios, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, KVIA-TV, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, TMZ.com, The Daily Caller, The American Independent, Rolling Stone, BizPac Review, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, Gothamist, USA Today, The Wrap, VICE, HotAir, Conservative Brief, The Hill, Crooks and Liars, Common Dreams, Washington Examiner, Mock Paper Scissors and Washington Times
Brett Bachman / Salon:
DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students, professors to register political views with state — Universities may lose funding if staff and students' beliefs do not satisfy Florida's GOP-run legislature — Public universities in Florida will be required to survey both faculty and students …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, Axios and Insider
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Jonathan H. Adler / Reason:
Does a New Florida Law Require State Universities to Monitor Faculty and Student Beliefs?
Does a New Florida Law Require State Universities to Monitor Faculty and Student Beliefs?
Discussion:
Breitbart, PIX11, Fox News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, Slate, National Review, The Hill, The Intellectualist and Outside the Beltway
Caroline Anders / Washington Post:
In push against ‘indoctrination,’ DeSantis mandates surveys of Florida college students' beliefs
In push against ‘indoctrination,’ DeSantis mandates surveys of Florida college students' beliefs
Discussion:
MSNBC, RedState, HuffPost, BizPac Review, Common Dreams, The Guardian, Reason, Twitchy and Orlando Weekly
Winston Marshall / Medium:
Why I'm Leaving Mumford & Sons — I loved those first tours. Bouncing off a sweaty stage in an Edinburgh catacomb we then had to get to a gig in Camden by lunch the next day. We couldn't fit all four of us and Ted's double-bass into the VW Polo. I think it was Ben who drew the short-straw …
Discussion:
The Guardian, EW.com, Fox News, Variety, Deadline, National Review, Louder With Crowder, The Federalist, The Sun, Breitbart, Mediaite, TheBlaze, Washington Examiner, UPROXX, HuffPost UK, Page Six, Full Feed, The Daily Caller and The Wrap
CNN:
More than 50 unaccounted for in deadly Surfside, Florida, building collapse, official says — Video shows moment building collapses in Florida — Surfside, Florida (CNN)An intense search and rescue effort is underway after part of a 12-story residential building collapsed early Thursday …
Discussion:
WSVN-TV, CBS Miami, NBC News, Insider, The Western Journal, Mediaite, Raw Story, KVIA-TV, Crooks and Liars, Deseret News and TheBlaze
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Politico:
A heart transplant at 18. The White House at 31. — Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice and Daniel Payne — White House deputy director of photography CHANDLER WEST wears his heart on his sleeve …
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Stephen Gutowski / The Reload:
Exclusive: 48 Republican Senators Demand Withdrawal of Pistol Brace Ban That Would Affect Millions — Forty-eight Republican senators signed a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday slamming the Biden Administration's plan to ban most pistol braces.
Discussion:
Fox News, Townhall, The Daily Caller, The Federalist and RedState
Melanie Zanona / Politico:
‘Lean into the culture war’: House conservatives push fight against critical race theory — The head of Congress' largest conservative caucus is encouraging Republicans to embrace anti-critical race theory rhetoric, as the GOP looks to lean into the nation's culture wars ahead of the looming battle for the House.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, HotAir, New York Magazine and Insider
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Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Defund the military? GOP's anti-woke crusade dips into dicey territory.
Defund the military? GOP's anti-woke crusade dips into dicey territory.
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Root and Orlando Weekly
Kate McGee / The Texas Tribune:
Wendy Davis, others sue law enforcement and Trump supporters over “Trump Train” harassing Biden bus in Texas — The plaintiffs argue the Trump supporters engaged in political intimidation when they surrounded the Biden campaign bus in October, in violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 …
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Daily Beast, The Intellectualist, Talking Points Memo, Crooks and Liars, One America News Network and KXAN-TV
Matt Fuller / The Daily Beast:
Congressmen Squirm as ‘World-Class Sleazeball’ Gaetz Continues to Roam — Members of Congress—Democrats and Republicans—are pretending like nothing is wrong, like their colleague isn't credibly accused of paying for sex with a minor. — Matt Gaetz is currently stuck somewhere between …
Discussion:
Task & Purpose
Hilda Bastian / The Atlantic:
The mRNA Vaccines Are Extraordinary, but Novavax Is Even Better — At the end of January, reports that yet another COVID-19 vaccine had succeeded in its clinical trials—this one offering about 70 percent protection—were front-page news in the United States, and occasioned push alerts on millions of phones.
Discussion:
KVIA-TV and Florida Politics
Caity Weaver / New York Times:
Meetings. Why? — Does this conversation need to be a meeting? Does anything? — Humanity has spent millenniums confined within the earthly limbo of meetings. — Ancient Egyptians, to name one subset of mankind, had multiple hieroglyphs to convey the concept of “council.”
Washington Post:
Inside the extraordinary effort to save Trump from covid-19 — His illness was more severe than the White House acknowledged at the time. Advisers thought it would alter his response to the pandemic. They were wrong. — This article is adapted from “Nightmare Scenario …
Scott Bauer / Associated Press:
Contracts call for probe into Wisconsin vote ‘illegalities’ — MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Retired police officers hired by Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos are being paid $3,200 a month to investigate “potential irregularities and/or illegalities” in the 2020 presidential election …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and The Hill
Michael Laris / Washington Post:
TSA self-defense course for flight attendants, paused during covid, relaunches amid reports of unruly behavior — After a pandemic hiatus, the Transportation Security Administration is relaunching a self-defense training course for flight attendants and pilots that includes suggestions …
New York Times:
Two top travel officials for Kamala Harris are departing, just as a rush of touring begins. — Two top aides who oversee travel for Vice President Kamala Harris are departing, leaving the vice president with her critical support staff in flux as she seeks to ramp up travel ahead of big vaccine …
The New York Times Company:
Ryan Mac Joining Technology Team — Ryan is joining The Times from BuzzFeed to cover tech accountability. Read more in this note from Ellen Pollock, Pui-Wing Tam, Jim Kerstetter and Joe Plambeck. — We're thrilled to announce that Ryan Mac is joining The New York Times to cover tech accountability.
New York Times:
U.S. to Search Former Native American Schools for Children's Remains — Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced a new initiative that would delve into the records of the federal schools to which Native American children were forcibly relocated for 150 years.
Discussion:
New York Post
Miranda Devine / New York Post:
FBI tears innocent New Yorker's life into shreds after Jan. 6 — Joseph Bolanos was a pillar of his community. President of his Upper West Side block association for the past 23 years, he looked out for his neighbors during the pandemic. He dropped off masks and kept extra heaters in his rent-controlled apartment for seniors.
Corey Kilgannon / New York Times:
‘The Rabbi Said It Was OK’: Hasidic Mother of 10 Becomes Doctor — An ultra-Orthodox mother navigated strict cultural norms to become one of the few Hasidic female doctors in the country. — Years ago, Alexandra Friedman saw a T-shirt bearing a message she never forgot: “Become the doctor your mother always wanted you to marry.”
Lindsay Kornick / Fox News:
Biden's bizarre behavior at press conference causes ‘Creepy Joe’ to trend on Twitter — Biden, lawmakers strike bipartisan $1.2T infrastructure deal — President Joe Biden trended on Twitter for what many are calling a “creepy” interaction with the press during a press conference on Thursday.